I honestly still don’t know what to make of the Jussie Smollett situation. To be fair, I haven’t known what to think the entire time. When he first came out and claimed to have been attacked by MAGA-types in the dead of winter, I thought there were holes in his story but I made the choice to believe him. When those holes in his story began to be investigated by Chicago PD, I wondered if they would find anything incriminating. When the Chicago authorities arrested him and charged him with sixteen felonies, I thought it was a gross abuse of prosecutorial power, but I also thought they probably had a mountain of evidence against him. And now that all of the charges have been dropped and the record of the indictments has been expunged, I still just… don’t know what’s happening.
Soon after the sixteen felony counts were dropped, Jussie Smollett came out and made a public statement:
“I have been truthful and consistent on every level since day one.” But… has he? He denies being the kind of person who would hurt the movement by making up an attack. I don’t know. Then, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel came out.
The Mayor said: “This is an unbelievable whitewash of justice. It’s immoral, unethical, wrong…. How dare him…Is there no decency in this man?” Mayor Emanuel also made reference to the $10,000 figure – that’s the 10% of the $100K bond that Jussie had to put up to be released after he was changed. Jussie forfeited the $10,000 at the same time prosecutors dropped the charges. Rahm is arguing that Jussie cost the police department a lot of money by making a false police report and wasting those resources and man hours having the police investigate a hoax. But can we still even call this a hoax if the charges were dropped? And what of those brothers who claimed that Jussie hired them? So many questions.
As for the community service angle – what happened was NOT a plea deal. Jussie isn’t required by some kind of court-approved deal to perform a certain number of community service hours (although he did perform some community service this past weekend). The state’s attorney’s office said they dropped the charges because Jussie was already doing community service. The state’s attorney’s office also said that the charges were dropped because Jussie is not a violent offender, and I guess Chicago needs to triage the most vital and violent cases to prosecute. Then why the sixteen f–king indictments though?
Also: all of the MAGA-types are screaming about how Jussie needs to be investigated further and there should be full transparency while simultaneously arguing that there should be no transparency in the investigations into Donald Trump. Classic.
Some celebrity and non-celebrity reactions:
Rahm Emanuel might wanna sit this one out… like he did when he didn't release the Laquan McDonald tape for thirteen months https://t.co/X5lYNQJMy2
— Ira Madison III (@ira) March 26, 2019
Just a note: Mayor Rahm Emanuel has literally never said this much abt a single documented case of police brutality during his reign of terror. Chicago has paid hundreds of millions of dollars to settle cases of police abuse & murder while this coward hides behind his desk. https://t.co/lyJacgMGpZ
— Keeanga-Yamahtta T. (@KeeangaYamahtta) March 26, 2019
I’ll just put this right here. https://t.co/XVnDr9PraL
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) March 26, 2019
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
I basically agree with all of your thoughts. him being perfectly innocent doesn’t make any sense to be y, and I think the CPD is corrupt but also that he planned it with the brothers and they didn’t have enough evidence to prove it.
I also think it’s pretty ironic that both Trump and Jussie got pseudo-cleared this week and both sides are going to be saying how guilty the other side is while their guy is “exonerated” (even though neither were exonerated nor convicted lol).
The charges were dropped by the states attorney because, he did not commit a violent crime on another person. It’s not because of lack of evidence. All the people in high places cooked up this. He did community services of 16 hours between Saturday and Monday. This was a quick decision, so quick they did not communicate this with the supervisors of police 👮♀️ or the mayor. The state attorney said he believes he did the crime, he was not exonerated.
What Jussie needs to do is apologize to the community and stop 🛑 lying that he was truthful.
If he keeps lying he will never get back his reputation. Empire is trying to resuscitate him but it may be to late.
Don the Con thought he got away but we will not know until we see the full report, not the version put out but Barr who was placed in that job to cover for 45, jmo.
Right? Does he think his story is in any way credible at this point? He is not even pretending to behave like someone who was an actual crime victim. If his story in true, then would he not sue his two accomplices? And the police? And if there really are two crazy people wandering around Chicago with a noose and bleach then why isn’t he calling for them to be caught, but instead saying that he just wants to move on? I would regain a modicum of respect back for him if he would finally just fess up.
@Alissa YES! How convienent that Avenatti and Jussie are both the focus in the news when there is THE BIGGEST BULLSH*T COVERUP IN AMERICAN HISTORY HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!
With this happening, who gives a flying f*** about some actor and lawyer.
Completely agree. Bigger fish to fry.
I’m so sick of everything that’s going on.
Completely agree with you, Steph. But I’m willing to bet that Jussie is the only thing Fox ‘News’ is going on about.
So are the brothers going to be charged with assault and a hate crime now?
Never mind. I see the state’s attorney thinks he’s guilty but dropped the charges because they’re not violent offenses. I guess jussie’s team is going to pretend he was telling the truth the whole time. Ok then. Moving on.
Rahm’s history- we’re going to have our first mayor who is a lady of color!
Sadly, he chose not to run this time. I wanted him to feel the humiliation of losing.
Rahm Emmanuel needs to shut up…seriously.
He can take his righteous indignation and stuff it. He and CPD did everything in their power to deny Laquan McDonald’s family justice.
I was screaming at my TV this morning when GMA had him on. I seriously cannot believe that anybody wants to hear Rahm Effin Emmauel’s opinion on this matter. I ALSO cannot believe that GMA devoted an entire segment to talk about Jussie Smollet when we are facing the eradication of the ACA and the suppression of the Mueller report. He did something awful but the charges were dropped. So basically, he got the white male treatment. Can we all move the eff on now?
Exactly. So he got away with something. OMG white america is beside itself!! A black dude got away with something! We will have to rewrite the constitution! Something must be done!
@ kitten, are you saying that Don the Con did something awful and got away with it “but the charges were dropped. So basically, .. can we all move the eff on now? One thing I hate about Don the Con is that he’s a 🤥 and I hate that JS is a liar and I’ll never look at him the same way again, jmo.
Choose your MAGAt response below.
Is it:
(a) “First they kneel during the anthem and now this!”
(b) “This is why we have Trump!”
(c) “Deep State Cover-Up!”
(d) “Obama’s shadow government is behind this!”
(e) “General Flynn was entrapped by Feds yet Smollet gets off free!”
(f) “Jussie Smollet just detroyed the idea of white male privilege!”
(g) All of the Above
(Answer: G. I have seen some version of every one of these arguments made on MAGA Twitter)
@B n A – Jussie’s crime was victimless, Trump’s crimes are not.
@B N A Fan- SURELY you aren’t saying that what Jussie did is equivalent to what Trump has done and continues to do?
Surely you aren’t saying that a celebrity who faked an attack that in the end, didn’t have the intended effect and actually ended up being SELF-sabotaging is the same as an American POTUS who thinks that American values are transactional, that Muslims are subhuman, that immigrant families belong in cages, that corporate giants like Boeing are more important than the safety of Americans, that people with pre-existing conditions deserve to die, that funding for special education programs is less important than a tax cut for the rich…I mean, do you REALLY need me to go on? Because I can..I have a LOT more on my List of Unconscionable Things that Trump Has Done.
No. See, I wasn’t bringing up Trump to make a comparison in how the justice system treated both men. I was bringing him up to say that the crimes of a sitting POTUS are FAR more consequential and FAR more dire for the American people than this salacious celebrity story.
But you know…carry on I guess.
Kitten, “white male treatment” LOL! So true. I’m going to borrow it as it sums up this whole fiasco from the beginning. The last person to lecture on decency is Rahm.
@ kitten, I know you did not bring up 45, but that’s how his people talk, “he did nothing” , it’s a nothing 🍔, nothing to see here folks, so move along. IMO, a lie is a lie, is a lie. I just believe Jussie should have manned up, apologize and move on. I never thought he would serve time, I always believe he would have made a plea deal, pay a fine and do some community work, so I was right in my thinking, just saying.
Oh I absolutely believe that he should have fessed up and apologized. Unquestionably. He doubled-down and honestly, it’s more cringeworthy than anything else—embarrassing and pathetic.
But I just meant to say that in another couple months, Smollet will be forgotten yet we will STILL be in the battle of our lives to save this country. Hyperbolic? Maybe. But that’s how I’m feeling right now. What he did was wrong but I just can’t be arsed to spend my time condemning him when we are fighting to protect everything that we hold dear.
(h) this was all covered in Hillary’s emails.
@ Heather LOL I forgot that one! (h) “Butter emails!” also works
Jussie’s crime was not victimless; he has done irrevocable damage to real victims by giving the MAGA scum something to point to when doubting or disbelieving them.
The charges were dropped by the states attorney because, he did not commit a violent crime on another person. It’s not because of lack of evidence. All the people in high places cooked up this. He did community services of 16 hours between Saturday and Monday. This was a quick decision, so quick they did not communicate this with the supervisors of police 👮♀️ or the mayor. The state attorney said he believes he did the crime, he was not exonerated.
What Jussie needs to do is apologize to the community and stop 🛑 lying that he was truthful.
If he keeps lying he will never get back his reputation. Empire is trying to resuscitate him but it may be to late.
Don the Con thought he got away but we will not know until we see the full report, not the version put out but Barr who was placed in that job to cover for 45, jmo.
Yeah, I do agree with that, unfortunately. @ Eva
Thank you Eva. Liars are always thieves. He is walking around saying he did not lie, all the evidence showed that he lied. Some people believes if you don’t agree with them you should shut up and move along. If this thing with Jussie was not news worthy they would not have it here to get comments. As I’ve said before the thing that bothered me about him is, he’s still insisting he told the truth. He told Robin
Roberts they had masks but he could see around the
eye that the attacker was white.
You say that as if MAGA people NEED something to point to.
Additionally, who the f*ck cares what MAGA people think? These are the people who insisted that Obama was a Kenyan-born Muslim and that Hillary ran a pedo ring out of a pizza shop. If the CPD had acquitted Jussie and proven that he was indeed a victim of an attack they would STILL be saying that he faked the whole thing.
Stop being beholden to these idiots. Their opinion about matters of justice have been null and void since they voted for a man who is accused of raping over a dozen women.
@kitten, you are not understanding what I’m saying, not your fault, so I’m moving along. I always found you a very pleasant person, so I’m out. Please don’t tell me I’m beholden to anyone. Take a look at your comments today, very snarky imo.
@ BNA Fan I wasn’t yelling at you or anyone else. I just meant my reply as an answer to everyone who asserts “this is a gift to the MAGAts” about ANYTHING, not just Smollet.
I’m sorry if my tone was harsh. We are friends, always.
But it’s not just about them is it, of course they will always have found a way to disbelieve victims. This is about the wider societal issue of believing victims and this has certainly set that fight back.
You will never convince the die-hards but there are people in between whose mindsets will be influenced by this, consciously or otherwise.
LOL excellent points kitten!
@ Eva-Respectfully, please miss me with that shit. As you said yourself, there will always be people who believe victims and people who don’t. That’s it. There are only two choices.
There is no such thing as an “in-between mindset” on the topic of victimization.
Hell, we had Trump on tape admitting that he grabs women and kisses them without consent, we have over a dozen accusers, we have proof that Trump pays off women for their silence and has the Enquirer kill negative stories about his various affairs. Yet people STILL disbelieved, demonized and vilified his alleged victims.
In fact, the only public consequence of Jussie’s actions will be that people who disbelieve victims will feel validated. People like myself and others who always side with victims FIRST will continue to do so. And if you start doubting victims because of ONE man who made a false accusation, then let’s face it: you never had the desire to believe victims in the first place.
Lol @ respectfully.
I hope that the “you” in your sentence is not referring to me because I certainly never disbelieved victims, but I certainly am aware that there are many in society who do and they are not all maga clowns.
You are doing some serious mental gymnastics if you think that his actions aren’t at all damaging to the cause.
If you always believe victims, then why are you so concerned with ONE person who made a false allegation? If you always believe victims, then I’m sure you can continue to do so without letting ONE person’s actions reflect on the millions of people who are victimized.
And sure, you can call what I think is a sound argument “mental gymnastics” but it doesn’t change the fact that you are using Jussie and his admittedly terrible behavior as a scapegoat for the deeply-entrenched biases and general skepticism that our society shows towards victims. Jussie didn’t start that, by the way, it’s always been that way.
@Kitten – ^^^^^this
Jussie is lucky to have been able to get the best lawyers.
Hopefully he shuts up and lays low.
He should absolutely shut up. But for the intergalactic incompetence of the CPD he’d be facing actual charges right now.
Two things can be true simultaneously: Jussie planned a fake “crime” and the CPD couldn’t investigate their way out of a paper bag.
Rich people…ain’t like the rest of us.
This. It’s about rich, connected, celebrity privilege.
The state’s attorney who dropped the charges said he believes Jussie is guilty, but he decided to drop charges because it was a “nonviolent offense.” I hope everyone in Chicago who was prosecuted for nonviolent offenses makes such a stink that this man is removed from his job.
No kidding. I have a little preschool student whose mom is in prison for a non-violent offense. He needs his mom more than most people could possibly imagine, it breaks my heart to imagine what this is doing to him in real time. Too bad a state’s attorney didn’t give this struggling, working class family the same consideration.
Oh that is horrible.
Terrible and not uncommon I’m afraid.
Ok but are we really going to hold this case up as the Greatest Miscarriage of Justice in CPD history? And look, I get your (very salient) point that this is unfair to nonviolent offenders who were subjected to much harsher sentences…but surely we can agree that the heart of the problem isn’t that Smollet is getting off scot-free but rather the fact that nonviolent offenders (especially those of color) are subject to excessively strict sentences compared to their white counterparts? And I know that as a celebrity, he’s an easy person to make an example of but I think it’s important to acknowledge that this ONE instance of a black person getting the white glove treatment is rare and definitely not the norm.
So Jussie benefited from both his celebrity and the fact that the CPD mishandled the case but let’s face it: if he were white, it would have likely been the same outcome. The system has always been rigged.
This
I think he only benefited from the mistakes they made. He was “lucky”
Would be nice to see him make a donation but I guess that would kind of be like he’s admitting guilt so it probably won’t happen
if he was white they never would have charged him. period.
If Jussie had just kept his mouth shut afterwards, I wouldn’t be so angry about him getting away scot free. But going on and on about being a victim and how he’ll continue to fight for marginalized people while simultaneously ignoring the fact he used his privilege & connections to get out of trouble. Serious eye roll. Just shut up & go away and pray there will be another celeb scandal soon so that ppl will forget about you.
eh…this case is a good reflection of what is wrong with our justice system period. White, black, whatever. If you have enough money and fame you won’t be adequately punished. Look at Mike Tyson, R Kelly, Chris Brown, heck even James Brown. The list could be a lot longer. Money can by your freedom and if you are poor or can’t afford to purchase your justice, you end up actually being punished or in jail. No thisn’t that big of a deal of case but it very reflective of our celebrity culture getting away with any crime, even murder. While a poor person can be in prison for years on a Marijuana charge.
The state’s attorney dropped the charges because he was told to. Jussie had high-powered help coming out of the woodwork. His free walk won’t last long because the FBI is next.
So what now, who will be charged for hate crime? Will they still investigate who did that to him? Will he still claim that he is victim of hate crime? And what about the other celebrities who claimed he’s innocent, who will they blame for attack? So many questions
Yeah, he is innocent. He is not being charged with a crime. So you should go to those celebrities and tell them they were right. Do it on twitter. This will keep you busy today and away from what you usually get up to, which by my guess is trumpian shit.
not being charged with a crime and being innocent are not the same thing.
But if he’s innocent will they investigate who did that to him? And sorry I’m not an American so no trump to me
Tell it to trump
Not even close to innocent. He’s a disgrace
Darla
What is it with you accusing people left, right, and center of being shills for trump? The poster asked a valid question. This is a confusing case with twists and turns aplenty. If someone expresses an opinion different from yours and your first response is to spit bile, might I suggest counseling?
Ah yes the burning question that everyone is asking right now: what will the celebrities do?
Lol. I have to laugh or I think I might not stop crying, like ever.
We are truly living in the darkest timeline, Esmom.
Everyone’s so bitter. English is not my first language, so maybe I didn’t write what I meant about celebrities, but I remember reading that he was dropped from empire or cut from some series. Will he get his job back? Not everyone that is reading here is from Us, there are other countries also you know that
Sorry for being snarky, IE. This has been a tough week here in the US and as such, I’ve been in an extra-pissy mood. And FWIW, your English is just fine.
To your other questions, I don’t know if he’ll get his job back but I do know the people who supported him are not to blame for this. They’re not somehow bad people for believing their friend. And I know you weren’t insinuating that but some people on the Right ARE and it’s driving me nuts. His friends and family are victims as well, you know?
Since the charges have been dropped he will either get his job back or be compensated for the remainder of his contract since he legally is no longer in violation of a morals clause.
here’s what i kind of think happened. jussie’s story was fishy but still the chicago PD screwed up royally and then over charged him without sufficient evidence. then jussie’s lawyer threatened the shit out of them so they decided to drop the charges and all these people whining about how guilty he is are just causing distraction from the fact that chicago PD is a bunch of corrupt criminals who might be able to pull this shit with poor people but not a celebrity – not even a C lister.
I’m with you, Lizzie. I think the CPD dropped the ball so far and then his lawyers had a lot to do with making this all “go away”.
It’s still so shady! Whatever happened.
I have a friend who’s an attorney and works mostly at the court where Jussie was yesterday — she posted some amazing photos — and this is her exact take.
What I believe is he knows people in high places and they worked out a deal to save him. He did his 16 hours at jessey Jackson office, his family know someone who worked with Michelle Obama’s and ask for a favor. My only problem with this deal is, he should have apologized instead of sticking to his story that he is being truthful. I’m confident he was not going to serve time but if he’s so innocent he should have go to trial and prove his innocent. But I don’t really care about, money talks, bull sh*t walks.
you are innocent until proven guilty…not innocent until you voluntarily subject yourself to a trial and prove your own innocence.
There were over 500 murders in Chicago last year. Prosecutors and police have limited resources and prioritize cases.
Rahm. I cannot stand that fool. I really question Obama’s judgement sometimes. This fool, the Axelrod fool, Comey, a REPUBLICAN as FBI director (which gave us trump, don’t at me).
I do not know what to make of all of this either, but I do know Rahm should have kept his mouth shut. Those tweets about him are dead on.
Last night I had to have dinner with a couple my husband knows that always seems to believe crazy conspiracies which is why I usually try to avoid seeing them. The wife brought up this case and I said it was all so strange that the cops way overcharged but was shocked he didn’t get at least community service and probation. She responded “that’s because Obama made the charges go away”. I said “no he didn’t he isn’t going to get involved with something like this and I doubt he even knows Jessie”. Her response was “there is a picture of them together”. Ugh! There is no reasoning with people like that
A call was made from a former Michelle Obama adviser to the state’s attorney on behalf of the Smollett family. That is a fact. I’m not happy about it, but that did happen.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-kim-foxx-texts-emails-jussie-smollett-20190313-htmlstory.html
so be clear – still not the obamas.
Lizzie, yes. Funny how if someone close to Trump is implicated in something they’re just a “coffee boy” but anyone with a tangential connection to the Obamas is their best friend and co-conspirator.
FORMER. That’s the ONLY word that matters.
Also, I don’t know Smollett from a hole in the wall but did he have any priors of any sort? This is the same discussion we had last week with the offer to Robert Kraft. Prosecutors will cut a deal that cases are deferred or continued without a finding and off the person goes. They aren’t convicted but they aren’t exactly cleared either. Happens ALL the time.
Tell her to stick with the real conspiracy theory about the corruption of CPD and the state corruption. Then add on his money and somewhat fame, the trifecta of how you can get away with a crime. Conservatives are still shook by Obama aren’t they?
I read that one of Michelle Obama’s former advisers called the state’s attorney on behalf of the Smollett family. This was to question the direction of the investigation BEFORE Jussie was considered the perpetrator (I guess it was to give up the case to the FBI). I think that there was a combination of factors that got him off: pressure from power people, Jussie is not a danger to himself or society, and the trial would have diverted resources from more important crimes. The police here are saying Jussie was NOT exonerated. Jussie’s lawyers and Jussie himself are still lying!
That is a wild and unsubstantiated rumor. Period.
The Chicago police’s word is pretty much made worthless by their extreme level of corruption.
I’m just here because Rahm Emanuel can go straight to hell.
Yes
Jussie should have just thanked them and humbly walked away. Now he’s going to double down on the denial? This guy is certifiable. What a crock of crap.
This is what I said about the Mueller report No,you’re not innocent. Just say thank you and move on. The victory lap is pure narcissism.
Exactly. The way he swaggered out yesterday with the shades on, acting like some kind of hero, going on and on about how he’ll continue the fight and save marginalized ppl everywhere and then taking selfies with people in the crowd afterwards. Ugh, like you said pure narcissism.
So why take this case to the grand jury to begin with? The grand jury that, with knowledge of the evidence, chose to indict him on all counts? Only for the State Attorney’s office to suddenly and unilaterally decide to drop the whole thing. There’s a very fishy piece of this puzzle missing. And sealing the records really intensifies the fishy stink.
Exactly. There’s more to it than “oh, it wasn’t a violent crime, and he stuffed envelopes & did community service on the weekend. Move on. Nothing to see here.” If this is normal and happens all the time like the prosecutors claim, why seal the documents? He’s not a minor or a victim of a like a sex crime that needs protecting. Jussie brought this all on himself. Why was Joseph Magats from the State Attorney’s office sweating & looking so uncomfortable during the interview yesterday? There was no reason to have the file sealed in this case unless something shady is going on. Despite what his lawyer says, it’s obvious there was a backdoor deal. But since the file is sealed, they can claim innocence and say whatever the heck they want at this point.
Sure Jan.
Lmao! Minx, you always get straight to the point, no BSing.
I don’t get this at all. If they only dropped the charges against Smollett cause he was a non-violent offender who had a history of community service, then why did they expunge the whole thing from his record? That’s absurdly overboard if he’s guilty, and you’re just being lenient. But if he was innocent, then there’s no reason to pay 10000$. I simply don’t believe that would even be considered by law enforcement if he was innocent.
The whole thing is strangely incongruous.
It makes no sense. Who gets indicted by a grand jury then poof, charges dropped?
Grand juries are not the end all be all of cases. All they determine is if there is enough evidence to bring charges. That’s it. And they only have what Prosecutors provide them to go off of. There is no defense element to it until charges are filed.
Grand juries indict innocent people literally ALL. The. Time. This idea of justice being fakr and reasonable needs to be done away with because anyone who has workes or dealt with the legal system will tell you otherwise. In all likelihood Smollett was making his own case against the CPD – and it was a good one.
For instance: why were there 12 detectives on this case when ont 1-2 detectives get assigned to MURDER cases. Why was the CPD leaking info to the press at every turn? Despite there being a policy that they aren’t allow d to do so? Why were the brothers who were his alleged co-conspirators allowed to talk to the press before the charges were ever brought??
I realize that. Indictment is the only the message to proceed. Which they suddenly and without much explanation did not. That’s unusual. I’m willing to believe everything said about the corruption in Chicago. I just also happen to firmly believe Jussie is guilty. Both can be true.
The rich, celebrities, the well connected……
I’ve been on Jussie’s side from the beginning. Period. I live in Chicago. I know how utterly corrupt the CPD is. And I know how utterly full of *hit Rahm Emanuel is. This is a man who lied and covered up not only the Laquan MacDonald case but also Homan Square. For those that don’t know what Homan Square is: it is a black site. A building where CPD would take “suspects” and they would just disappear. Many were tortured. It was first reported on in the Guardian some years back. Chicago has paid over 700 MILLION follars in settlements to people who were shot, killed or assaulted by police officers. Money the city has had to BORROW. Most of this during Emanuel’s tenure as Mayor. The only reason he did not run for a third term is because his approval rating is so low he knew he wouldn’t have been re-elected. So he can spare me his faux outrage.
OMG!
Shoutout to you in Chicago!
I used to live there, near where Grand and North crossed. Chicago is awesome! If the winter weather wasn’t so bad, I’d srsly consider moving back. 😉
Money & fame is how you buy freedom & justice in this country. CPD can be bought who would have thunk it?
If Jussie Smollett is truly a victim of the hate crime he described, then I hope he sues Chicago for defamation of character, etc., and pressures Chicago to bring whoever attacked him to justice.
Jussie Smollett is a victim of his own making.
lawyer here. the problem is that the CPD held a press conference in which they charged, tried, and convicted him in the public eye. most lawyers found that mind-boggling. (“this is his motive, to improve his career” etc etc etc.) all these statements were prejudicial and made the prosecutors work – to prove the charges before a jury on the basis of an unbiased investigation – much, much harder. his lawyers, who were good, knew this and went in and threatened probably a civil suit for damage to his reputation. maybe even a civil rights suit. after that press conference, the prosecutor couldn’t win. IMO that is why this is going away
That makes perfect sense to me and thank you for the professional insight.
Honestly not trying to argue, trying to understand. I’ve seen hundreds of press conferences held by police departments in high profile cases—that proceeded with criminal charges and convictions. I don’t understand why this press conference is any different and resulted with the whole case being thrown out.
If he really is telling the truth, then are the cops still looking for the guys that attacked him? I mean those guys are still out there…that is if he really is telling the truth. The lawyer for the brothers who said Jussie paid them to attack him has quit because the brothers refuse to go public now with their side of the story. Makes me wonder if someone threw a nice amount of money at them to hush them.
Possibly. Without the brother’s testimony perhaps the case that convinced the grand jury to indict, (not convict Valiantly) fell apart.
We’ve convicted people in public opinion many times without legal charges being filed, right or not, there were people accused of harrassment that were called predators or rapists and no charges were filed. People can call it a hoax, or whatever they really want to call it. I term it as a hot mess myself.
Jussie can whine all he wants but the fact is … he has not come out with any kind of plausible story about what happened. Invoking your mother isn’t a defence. In fact, IF he is still a victim, why the hell isn’t he suing the brothers??? Because he’s guilty. And he had great lawyers who got him a sweetheart deal. And he had contacts in high places who helped. His reputation has taken a big hit though and deservedly so. So, bye Jussie.
Welp, just remember, we know for a fact (remember those, facts?) that russian trolls farms are all over the internet comment sections, twitter, fb, etc. They are going to be posting propaganda like Smollett is related to Kamala, Rachel Maddow sobbed, and Michelle Obama got Smollett released with no charges. When called on it, they will respond in a variety of ways, claim you are crazy, etc.
I find them ludicrously transparent.
They have been swarming Twitter and other sites since Barr’s statement was released and they couldn’t WAIT to glom onto this story as well. Be vigilant, friends.
Yes. It’s wild how they relentlessly chime in until suddenly these crazy narratives become accepted as fact. We fall for it every f$^&ing time.
I started to argue with someone on twitter about how anti-vaxxers aren’t causing the outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases but illegal immigrants flooding over are border are. I realized this had to be a troll. Although I wouldn’t put it past some real MAGAts to absolutely believe this, so who knows.
The bond would have been forfeited anway. When you pay the full amount, which would have been $100,000, you get that back when your case is resolved. If you only pay 10%, that amount is kept by the police.
I live in Chicago and just, ugh. I don’t care care that Smollett isn’t getting any jail time. I am annoyed, however, that that they didn’t plea him out so he had to admit guilt but instead just dropped the charges AND sealed everything. And now this idiot is all over the place proclaiming his innocence. And I really hope they don’t give him his part back on the show – I don’t want this jackass in my city. We have enough problems (see below) without someone making crap up to get more money/fame/screen time – who knows what his motive was.
And ugh on Rahm, too. I can complain that this is a whitewash of justice, but that’s because I wasn’t involved in trying whitewash justice by trying to push the Laquan McDonald shooting under the rug. Glass houses, Rahm!
I used to live in Chicago. It’s a great city but there is so, so SO MUCH BS.
I still miss Berlin tho, and the Melrose! 😉
@ Some chick – the Melrose is closed. There’s still a restaurant there, but it’s not the Melrose. And I agree, Jussie is not welcome in this town.
My take on this is they never had enough evidence in the first place. If they had their evidence, they would have indicted him. I think the agreement that Jussie Smollet do some off the record community service was so Chicago pd and Chicago prosecutors could save face. That’s the only way this makes sense. There is no conspiracy going on other than somebody leaked or lots of somebodies leaked supossed evidence to the press that they just did not have.
The two other men possibly involved never gave up Jussie as they originally claimed. They stuck together. The evidence found at the house wasn’t conclusive as they claimed, etc. They wouldn’t have given Jussie this big of a break otherwise.